Blackgate
by tstone
Summary: The Stargate Network, thousands of years old, opened up the Galaxy to exploration. This was the Ancients' gift to the Galaxy. But what if some weren't happy about this state of affairs, and had a different agenda?
1. I See You

Some have said that our existence is a campfire, a feeble flame lighting up a tiny bit

of the darkness. Things lurk at the edge, waiting for the flame to weaken. Some

speculate about some among us who live in the fragile light of life, who, for whatever

reason, desire the darkness, and wish to give it a point of entry. They want to snuff

out our light.

And the things are all too ready to accommodate...

Late evening in the SGC commissary. Dr. Daniel Jackson quietly sipped some coffee

and ate a sandwich, thumbing through a few mythological texts. He barely seemed

to move, except when he flipped a page, his eyes shifted focus, or on the rare

occasion when he bit out of his sandwich, or took a sip from his now cold coffee.

"Daniel?", came the voice of Jack O'Neil. "Don't you know you need to stay away

from the commissary's pastrami? Especially right before bedtime? You do remember

that, right? Bed? Fluffy pillows? Clean sheets, warm blankets?" His head bobbed from

side to side emphatically, and smiled.

Daniel kept reading. Didn't even grunt an acknowledgement.

Jack craned his neck to try to get a look at some of what he was reading, "Dante's

Inferno...Paradise Lost...Ragnorok...Revelations...Persephone...nice sweet reading

before bed?"

Daniel continued reading.

"Daniel, we could have a mission in a couple of days. I want my bookworm to be just

as rested as everyone else," Jack said.

"I'll go to bed in just a minute," Daniel murmured.

"Ok, I've heard this one before. Daniel says to Jack, 'I'll go to bed in just a minute.'

Jack is satisfied, and sensibly hits the rack himself. Gets up for chow the next

morning. There's Daniel, still geeking out on his latest obsession. C'mon, Daniel, you

could at least clue me on what's on your mind," Jack said, eyebrows raised.

"Hell," Daniel said. "The idea that beyond what we call the material universe, are

reams of darkness, insanity, pain. And entities dwelling there wish to spread the

same condition everywhere else.

"Getting a little King-ish on us, are you, Daniel?"

"Lovecraftian is the word you want, Jack," Daniel said, looking at him.

"Yeah, the greeting card guy," O'Neil nodded uncomprehendingly. "Right."

Daniel sighed and closed his book after marking his page. You remember when the

Asgard activated the eighth chevron, sending you to the Asgard homeworld?

Allowing extragalactic travel?"

"Yeah...yeah...we met Thor, made some good friends. So?"

"Ok. Extragalactic travel. The Gate can do that with eight chevrons. What does nine

do?", Daniel asked expectantly.

"Um...this sounds like Carter's field," Jack began.

"I know." Daniel said. "She says we have no way of knowing yet."

"Yeah...ok. But what does this have to do with stories about bad places bad people

go when they die?"

"Well, there's that codex we recovered on P3R233?"" Daniel asked.

"The planet we found that Quantum Mirror?", Jack asked.

"If you'll remember, I took a few artifacts from that world, and I've been working to

decipher the information on them. The people who set up that facility apparently

dedicated themselves to travel, and recorded what they found, or heard of. I've been

trying to get a rundown of their stories, the places they knew of," Daniel continued.

"Ok. And?", Jack asked, wondering where this was going.

"Do you believe in Hell?", Daniel asked him.

"Of course. I have an Ex," Jack said. He then grinned. The grin wilted a bit when he

saw Daniel's deadly serious expression.

"No, I mean it," Daniel said. "Do you believe in a place called Hell?"


	2. Daniel's Inferno

Jack's grin faded, and he sat up straight, regarding his friend. He then folded his

arms, sat back and cocked his head.

"You wanna start from the beginning, Daniel?"

"Ok. That building where the Quantum Mirror and the Stargate were, seemed to be a

museum, an archive of navigational information, technology, legends and myths.

This museum also has information on the Ancients and some of what they did and

how they lived."

"Yeah. They built cool stuff and went sight seeing. What we all do. So?"

"I've come across information that alludes to different kinds of Stargates. And hints

about the use of the ninth chevron," Daniel said. He became more animated, more

intense as he went on.

"Interesting," Jack said, in a way that said, "Great, Daniel. Get to the point, please."

"Did you know that not all the Ancients were...enlightened?", Daniel said, leaning forward.

"Some black sheep. Everybody's got a few," Jack said, regarding Daniel thoughtfully.

"Black sheep doesn't even come close, Jack. The passage I've translated talks about

a cult of renegade chaos worshippers, who believed the universe was fatally flawed.

They believed that the Ancients were perverting the plan of the Divine, building a

network system to the universe. They believed the universe had to be broken back

down to it's constituent components and reshaped!"

"Ambitious, they were," Jack said, just a touch sarcastically.

"Supposedly, they were being guided by an entity that sought to assist them," Daniel

said. "Supposedly, it was giving them knowledge on how to build an entirely new

kind of Gate."

"Well, they didn't. Everything is still here," Jack said, gesturing around the room.

"You found some spooky stuff in some musty pages. Yeah, so what? King writes stuff

scarier than that."

"I saw something in a vision..," Daniel said. "And I know in my gut, it was real."

"It was real, Daniel Jackson," came a familiar deep voice. "I have seen it, too."

Teal'c was entering the room, coming toward them in that the unearthly way he had,

someone as large as he was, moving that quietly and gracefully.

His face was grave, even more so than usual. He sat down at the table with Jack and

Daniel, and regarded them quietly. He inclined his head to Daniel and said, "Please

tell your tale, Daniel Jackson, and then I will tell you mine."

"Alright. Tell your tales, guys," Jack said. "They'd better be good, as I don't have one

of my own. Unless you want to hear the one about my ex."


	3. Bedtime Stories

Daniel looked at Jack, who shrugged his shoulders and gestured in his direction, "You

heard him, you're up first, Daniel."

Daniel looked back at Teal'c, blew air towards his hair, and then began. "Teal'c's

been teaching me Kelnorim, and I sometimes do see things. Recently, I saw

something that bothered me. I saw a barren, dark planet, like a large asteroid. On

this asteroid was some sort of base. In this base was something like a Stargate. But

it looked...wrong. It felt wrong. It felt...evil. And I felt like I was being watched. And

then I ran across that reference in the texts I've been translating...Jack, don't give

me that look," Daniel exclaimed.

"Daniel...you've been reading ghost stories in those musty pages. C'mon. Late night

snacks, ancient legends, active imagination, Jaffa sleeping style...it'll happen," Jack

said, like that was the most reasonable assumption on Earth.

"Perhaps, O'Neil," Teal'c intoned.

Jack indicated, "Go on."

"I have not been reading the texts that Daniel Jackson has. But, I saw the same

vision. I felt what he felt. And I am convinced it is real. The System Lords have been

pursuing Ancient technology for centuries. And there have been legends of black

devices. Weapons and other instruments of unspeakable horror that have been long

buried. Many system lords desire such devices greatly."

"Yeah, so did Saddam Hussein...ok, bad comparison," Jack sighed. "Look, what do

you want from me?"

"Talk to the Asgard, the Tok'ra, our other allies, Jack. Let's see if they've heard

anything," Daniel said. "I mean, asking never hurt, right?"

"You weren't around the O'Neil household during Christmas," Jack said. He sighed,

then says, "I'll mention it to General Hammond in the morning. Meanwhile, I want

both of you to hit your rooms and get some sleep. I mean, is Carter the only sensible

one on this team?"

Right on cue, Major Samantha Carter came into the room, her soft brow furrowed as

she looked over a copy of some technical data Daniel had made for her to check out.

"Daniel, the implications of what this represents is staggering. I think we need to

bring this up to General Hammond, and maybe call the Tok'ra..." she then noticed

the gathered group.

"Staff meeting?", she asked.

"Nightmares. They needed reassurance from Daddy," Jack said. "Ok, tomorrow we

talk to the general and get on the horn to the Tokr'a at least. See what they have to

say. Meanwhile, bed time. Of you go. That means you, too, Daniel."


	4. Something's Afoot

Daniel Jackson lay shirtless in his bed. His chest fitfully rose and fell, his head shook from side to side. He moaned at the strange vision he beheld in his mind's eye...

A dark planetoid, a black mote careening around a feeble red star. This star raced at tremendous speeds in it's orbit about the center of the Milky Way galaxy. This region was packed with stars, energetic, violent, no life here. But there was presence.

The terrain here was a no man's land. Few would want to come here. None would want to stay. The violence of the closely packed stars roaring along in their orbits paled next to the black void at the galaxy's center. The stars in this region sped quickly because they had to. Their speed was the only thing that kept them from the ravenous monster at the center of the galaxy. A huge, ancient black hole hunkered down at the galaxy's center. Its ever-present gravity was there for anything that became weak or careless...

No, this was not a place for life. But there was a presence. And as black and bottomless was the gravity well in the galactic center, it was nothing to the Darkness orbiting nearby. It beheld the black hole; every now and then turning it's gaze to the points of light and life outward into the galaxy.

It was patient. It could wait.

"I SEE YOU..."

Daniel sat up, his eyes wide, perspiration glistening in the dim light of his room. His breath eventually returned to normal and he lay back.

But his eyes remained wide open. Sleep would not come again this evening.

Teal'c sat on the bunk in his room, candles lit. His eyes were open, and at the same time, a slight tremor was registered in his demeanor. He then blew out the candles, and his room went dark.

Silence.

That morning, the members of SG-1 gathered in the Stargate Command briefing room. General Hammond was listening to Daniel and Teal'c relate their tales. He looked at each member of the team, getting a read on each member.

Jack O'Neil looked skeptical, but concerned. He clearly wasn't sure about this story, but he was anxious for Daniel.

Daniel Jackson was relating his reseach and his experiences, including what happened last night. He looked like hell. Dark circles under his eyes, his hair slightly mussed up. He was rattled, and suffering from weariness.

General Hammond wasn't sure what to make of Dr. Jackson's story, but he wasn't going to dismiss it out of hand. For when he looked at Teal'c, he saw absolute confirmation in the eyes of the Jaffa warrior, though his face maintained the stern warrior stoicism he usually affected.

He looked over at Major Samantha Carter, to see how she was taking this. She was concerned for Dr. Jackson, for sure. But she was listening closely. She was not inclined to dismiss Daniel, either.

Daniel Jackson finished his tale, sighed and looked down at the notebook in front of him and said, "I know it sounds like a rant, General, but I know what I saw, what I felt..." he trailed off.

He saw Teal'c nodding and asked him for impressions.

"I have seen it, too, General Hammond," Teal'c confirmed. "I do not yet know what it means, but I am certain it would be unwise to ignore it."

General Hammond then looked at Major Carter and said, "What's your impression on that technical data Dr. Jackson gave to you?"

Samantha Carter gathered her thoughts, her eyes earnest, her voice calm, yet with a hint of wonder, and a little eagerness, "The possibilities in those notes are fascinating, and if true...Sir, Daniel is exhausted, but he isn't crazy. And Teal's is seeing the same things. If the System Lords are actively searching for something like this, if they find it..," her voice trailed off.

General Hammond turned to O'Neil, "Colonel?"

"Give the Tok'ra, maybe the Asgard, the Nox a shout out, see what they've got? Never hurts to check in with friends, sir."

Just then, the siren went off.

Down in the control room, the crew on duty was examining their readouts to see what they could see. For an incoming wormhole was forming...


	5. Deep Kimche

The members of SG-1 looked at each other, then looked as a unit at General Hammond.

"Were we expecting company?", Jack O'Neil asked him.

General Hammond shrugged, and with his Texas drawl showing a little more, "Well, I'm as surprised as you are, Colonel. There was nothing on my schedule."

Jack looked over at Daniel, who simply sat stone-faced, but with a hint of the expectant.

Jack shrugged, then said, "Well, let's go see whose knocking at the door, shall we?"

SG-1 and General Hammond rose and walked through the familiar corridors down to the chamber that was the reason this facility existed; the Gate Room. The Stargate was a mixed blessing for the inhabitants of Earth. It brought humanity into contact with the greater galaxy at large. Problem was, Humanity wasn't ready for an awful lot of what was out there.

But to turn their backs on the galaxy now, would be shutting that proverbial barn door after the bovines had already gone strolling. Earth was now in the thick of galactic affairs. And the Stargate was a combo red carpet and first line of defense. What was done was done, and that left only the future to face.

The team and General Hammond arrived at the Control Room, looking down thru the thick armored glass shield into the Gate Room. Master Sergeant Walter Davis was coordinating the airmen on Control Room duty. As soon as he saw the group arrive, he says, "Incoming wormhole, signal from the Tok'ra. They want to send a representative through. The signal's authentic, sir."

Sergeant Davis turned to General Hammond, who nodded and said, "Alright, Sergeant, open the Iris."

"General..?", O'Neil voiced, pointing towards the stairwell that led down into the Gate Room. General Hammond nodded and followed SG-1 down to greet their visitor. When they arrived, the iris had retracted itself and the familiar shimmering wormhole showed itself. Suddenly, a lone figure emerged. The wormhole collapsed behind him.

Jacob Carter, formerly of the US Air Force, now joined with the Symbiote Sel'mac, walked down the ramp in front of the Stargate. He smiled at the sight of his daughter, Samantha, and hugged her warmly.

He then addressed the group behind her, and said, "We need to talk. Theirs is some serious developments underway with the System Lords. If it proves to be what we fear it is, this could be a nightmare."

Daniel Jackson started, and stared at Jacob Carter with intensity, his weariness temporarily forgotten. Teal'c added his gaze, one eyebrow jumping up.

Jack O'Neil looked at Daniel.

"Yeah. Nightmares. Right. We've been getting a lot of that of late."


	6. You're Not Crazy, Daniel

SG-1 and company repaired to the SGC briefing room. Samantha Carter sat next to her father, and looked at him, as did everyone else. Except Daniel. He stared at his hands folded in front of him, resting on the table.

"The floor is yours, Jacob," General Hammond said, taking a seat at his accustomed chair.

"Yeah, you said something about...nightmares?", Jack O'Neil prodded.

Daniel's head jerked up, and his gaze fixed on Jacob.

Jacob looked at Daniel thoughtfully, then addressed the rest of the table.

"It seems the secrets of the Ancients won't stay buried, even those that are best left thus," Jacob said.

O'Neil looked over at Daniel, who continued to stare at Jacob. He then tilted his head and turned back to Jacob.

"Buried...secrets?"

"Do you all remember Tanith?"

Teal'c's demeanor became much darker and more menacing.

"Yes, I slew him," he said, his voice unmistakably hard and cold.

Jack wondered about the final encounter between Teal'c and Tanith. He never understood just why Teal'c had taken that chance, that near suicidal standoff with Tanith in that ship, and Teal'c with that heavy staff-weapon. Teal'c had never explained it. But everyone had thought Tanith dead.

"It seems he got better," Jacob said, no sign of mirth in his voice. "And now, he's looking to make the most of a lucky break. He has stumbled across a piece of information that it's said will take him to a piece of technology, a Stargate of a different sort."

"Is it something like this?", Samantha asked, sliding over to her father the technological specifications Daniel had given her. There was a moment's pause, and a flash of light in Jacob's eyes indicated that Sel'mac had taken center stage. Jacob's now altered voice said, "Where did you get this?"

"The travel archive on P3R233," Daniel said, his voice now strong. "What does it mean?"

"I'm not sure," Sel'mac admitted. "But rumor has it, Tanith claims to have been communing with an entity that exists outside this universe. And he supposedly is trying to find a special Gate that will allow access to this universe. And he's looking for the missing piece of information that will allow a gate to take him to the world that has this special gate. Legends call it the Black Gate."

"So the ancients discovered Gate setting that allow extra dimensional travel? I've heard of speculation about that, but that's all it's been," Samantha Carter said, looking at the specs, then back at her father. "But the stresses on local space time, the technological leaps...even if you could get around those, creating a gateway, local twisting of space-time for extra universal travel, the power requirements would be..."

"Astronomical?", Jack O'Neil said, his 'I'm getting a headache face' in evidence.

"You have no idea, sir," Samantha said.

"True, true..." Jack said, nodding, rubbing his forehead.

"Tanith is on the way to P3R233," Daniel said.

"Well, we should plan a trip, too, I suppose," Jack said, looking to General Hammond.

"What kind of time table are we looking at?", General Hammond said?

Jacob Carter was now back in charge, "He doesn't have access to a gate, so he will be relying on FTL travel. We have a bit of time to plan."

"In that case, we all rest, especially you, Daniel," Jack O'Neil said. "Tomorrow, well, we know where we're going..."


	7. Tanith Cometh

Jack O'Neil looked at the troops he would be leading. SG-1 was the lead element on this expedition, and his people were present. Major Samantha Carter looked earnest, even a bit eager. Anything that involved new toys, new science, got her antennae twitching. Well, everyone needs a hobby. Teal'c, staff weapon at order arms, stood resolute, as always. Then...Daniel. He must have gotten some sleep last night, because he looked rested, energetic. There was that usual Dr. Jackson laid back curious intensity when they were going on a trip that promised lots of research. But there was something else.

A chance to confront his boogie man?

"Daniel? You ready for this?", he asked.

Daniel nodded.

Jack gazed at him appraisingly for a second.

"I'm fine, Jack. Really."

More gaze.

"Okay."

He then looked over SG-3. Major John Phillips and his Marines specialized in squad level weapons support, and were along, if things got hairy. And with the strangeness involved in their mission, O'Neil wasn't taking any chances.

Then, there was the relatively new SG-17, an all Army Ranger combat team led by Lt Col Montaigne Deveraux. His slight Cajun accent facinated Teal'c, or at least Teal'c seemed to be always listening closely whenever the New Orleans native spoke. This team had been on a half dozen trips, three of them involved combat with Jaffa troops, and a forth involved a rescue assignment. So Jack was convinced that between SG-3 and 17, they had the firepower for the job.

Finally, there was the newly restaffed SG-9, a combo Navy/civilian SG team, led by Captain Macy Killian. For some reason, Jack thought of Lt Uhura on Star Trek whenever he looked at her. The fact she was a commo specialist helped matters. This team dealt in exploration skills, and since the museum on the world they were going to was a monument to that sort of thing, these folks could come in handy, too.

Captain Killian nodded at O'Neil, acknowledging his appraisal. She then showed a lovely, toothy grin when she noted his distaste at the "eggheads" on her staff. She would let him get away with it. For now.

The Marines and soldiers stood straighter, acknowledging O'Neil's inspection. O'Neil shook Major Phillip's hand, and said, "Sorry you didn't get to sleep in this morning, Major."

Phillips returned O'Neil's handshake strongly, "Gotta work off the chow hall food, Colonel. They feed us too well here."

Jack snorted and said, "Try going without seconds."

The marines chuckled as O'Neil moved onto the Rangers. They went to attention and LC Deveraux saluted smartly. O'Neil returned the salute, then looked the soldier up and down, "How's the leg, Colonel?"

"I's fit as a fiddle, suh! I'll have no problem keeping up!"

O'Neil nodded, then said, "Well, try not to go tearing around, where we are going. It is a museum. Don't want to break stuff, right?"

O'Neil has seen Deveraux in his Class A's and noted he didn't wear his Purple Heart, as would have been his right, wounded in battle by a Jaffa staff weapon. Deveraux, like some combat vets, saw Purple Hearts as bad luck, acknowledging enemy marksmanship. So he refused.

Finally, Uhura. The statuesque black woman was the posture of the professional. But her eyes had a subtle amused dance to them.

O'Neil stopped before her.

"I hope your civlians realize this could involve some heavy lifting, right, Captain?"

A Pippi Longstocking looking redhead in a Battle Dress Uniform that looked too big for her puffed up and opened her mouth in what looked to be a loud protest.

Captain Killian waved her off. "Colonel, the civilians on SG teams, as you know, are top experts in their fields, as well as proven athletes. You have a reputation for not being fond of civilians, I know, but if General Hammond can approve of my people, surely, so can you." She smiled sweetly.

"Right," O'Neil said. Yes, the skills this SG team had could come in handy, and he believed in being prepared. But civilians. Led by a squid. A squid egghead.

Ok.

"Everyone's here, all packed. I hope everyone hit the latrine before showing up, yes? Good. Jacob?"

Jacob Carter stood in front of the teams, saying, "Tanith should still be on his way, so we have some time. Our objective is to find the gate coordinates that will send us to the destination in question. Tanith is not likely to have Jaffa support, as he's persona non grata among the System Lords. But he may have hired mercenaries, so that could be a problem."

The two combat SG teams nodded in acknowledgement.

"The world we may go to, we have no idea what the environment will be like, so we will need to be able to assess it quickly once we know, then request the needed material support."

Captain Killian gave a thumbs up.

Jacob nodded at O'Neil. O'Neil looked over his troops one last time.

"Any questions?"

"Alright, let's do this."

The familiar klaxon sounded, the dial spun, there was the signature backwash of spacetime, and the Stargate opened wide.

SG-1 led the way into it's maw...


	8. To The Museum

The planet P3R233 was a dead world. It's civilization was long gone. Yet their gathered wonders remained. Whomever these people were, they were facinated by coming and going, and places to see. The Stargate Command hadn't had a chance to extensively catalog this civilization yet, but it seemed, except for scouts, they really didn't travel that much themselves. They just collected information on places and methods of travel.

There was no sign of a mass die off, so some predicted the natives had left the planet en masse at some point. When this mission was over, SG-9, the exploration team, would be staying here to establish a base camp for an extensive cataloging of this world.

Right now, this place had unfortunately become center of attention. Not of the System Lords, but the outcast Goau'ld, Tanith. He probably hadn't told anyone about his discovery, but the fact he had it, was highly disturbing. Even without the nature of the discovery...

This world would be far more active for a bit.

The travel museum. A wide room with artifacts here, there, began to stir. Moving air dislodged dust. Over on one side, a Stargate began to wake up. Lights came up on the DHD console. Suddenly, a white glow dispelled the room's darkness to it's far corners. The pseudo splash of space/time flooded forth, then jerked back. The horizontal shimmering surface of an established event horizon appeared. And through it, visitors came.

SG-1 emerged, quickly taking defensive positions behind available cover. The other three teams followed behind, efficiently taking other positions, providing all corners of the room with fire cover.

Colonel Jack O'Neil looked around. Teal'c looked calm and focused, his staff weapon trained on his sector. Major Samantha Carter looked around, mind on the job, but also obviously eager to begin exploration. Daniel Jackson looked...intense. Like he had that hanging flap of skin at the roof of his mouth after burning himself, and wanted to pick at it.

He would have his chance at his unanswered questions here. And though he would be loath to admit it, Jack O'Neil found himself curious, too. And very wary. He was taking no chances.

He whispered into his comm link, "IFFs on."

O'Neil then looked down into the small screen of his PDA. It registered the electronic signatures of the team members present. Good.

He then turned to Major Phillips and SG-3, the Marine heavy weapons team.

"Major, your team will be responsible for securing the Stargate. If anyone comes in here, and they don't register a friendly on your screen, kill them."

He turned away, then turned his head to look over his shoulder back at Major Phillips.

"I'm not kidding. Even if it seems to be me. If you can't confirm it, waste 'em."

"Aye, sir," Major Phillips nodded.

"O'Neil looked at the other Marines. They all nodded at him in acknoledgement. A quiet chorus of "Aye, ayes" sounded.

O'Neil nodded in return, then turned to the others.

"Daniel, Major, Captain Killian, you know what you are looking for, get to work. DON'T lose your IFFs, ok? Comm checks every ten minutes, teams stick together, at least no less than two people together. Watch your buddy's back. Simple, right?"

He paused, then added, "If you see Tanith, try to take him alive, but if he's too much trouble, kill him. Got it?"

Teal'c looked quietly resolute. Samantha looked ready to go to work. Daniel stared at a point in the doorway beyond their room. He looked at the Rangers. They, as a group, seemed like Teal'c, ready to do the job. He finally looked at Captain Killian and her team. They looked like kids at the first day of school. Smart kids. Maybe a little cocky.

Hm. Not sure he liked that.

"Let's go earn our pay," he said. And led the way out of the gate room into the darkened museum.


	9. Watch the Skies

Jack O'Neil looked at his people. First, he addressed Major Carter and Captain Killian.  
"I think you need to get your folks topside and set up the radar."

To the combat team, "Teal'c, Deveraux, start setting up the sensors."

To Daniel Jackson and the Archaeology team, "Go find what you are looking for. Tanith is going to be looking for the same thing. Let's get it first. We'll be in control, and it'll piss him off."

Carter, Killian and two of the people from Killian's section retrieved equipment backpacks and began looking for roof access. After some careful searching in the dim building, they found a set of stairs, and headed up. They found a door at the top. It was locked. Killian looked at one of her people, a thin, ferret faced man with facial stubble. He lit on the door with intense, careful actions that matched his eyes. After a moment, the door popped open. They looked thru the doorway. They saw a wide, flat roof with spires at the octagonal corners. And a sky full of stars looked down on them.

They silently filed out onto the roof. They looked around. The stars and two of the three moons on this world shone down, dimly lighting up the city around them. They could make out the silhouettes of distant buildings, hunched down, as if under a blanket. A sleeping community. In suspension. Dormant.

They quietly dropped their packs to the roof, and began setting up the radar. This would hopefully give them local air/space traffic control, and would tell them when Tanith's ship arrived. Darla Kincaide, one of the other civilians on Killian's team, wondered out loud, "Would this have been easier if we just located the air traffic control system and activated that? I'm just askin'...", she said defensively, as the ferret faced man gave her a look.

Killian smiled at Darla. The young woman was brilliant, and skilled in so many areas. At the same time, her street sense could use a little work. "What did they use for air traffic control? Where would it be? How would we activate and operate it, assuming it could be?"

Darla thought, then said, "There's power in the city, or at least in this building. The machines in this museum are getting power from somewhere. Y'know?"

"I think each of the buildings in this city have independent power sources," Carter said, thinking out loud. "The Stargate activates the power reserves in this building, it seems. And maybe if we could answer those questions about this city's air control systems, that might actually work. But we don't have the time."

She plugged in some wires, closed a panel, and said, "This will have to do."

Killian shrugged and said, "Well, Colonel O'Neil would probably agree, one building and the group centered there, is an easier situation to secure, anyway. So even if we knew where that facility was, and how to activate it, I don't think it would be the best idea for us to do that. Though wandering around the dark in an alien city isn't utterly lacking in appeal. Right?"

Darla agreed vigorously, and Carter smiled.

Killian continued, "Of course, the thing that would make it perfect would be wandering hand in hand with some eligible bachelor. I mean, why waste such a romantic setting?"

Seeing the look 'Give me a break' look on Samantha Carter's face, and hearing a giggle from Darla, Killian smiled and said, "Oh, come on, when under this kind of sky, how can one help but turn one's thoughts to such things? I wonder of Colonel O'Neil is up for a wander in the night?"

Carter sighed and rolled her eyes, shutting her panel after plugging in some remaining jacks.

After a systems check, once the transmitter was set up, they gathered up the leftovers, put on their pack, and headed downstairs to check the system....

Jack, Teal'c and the Rangers were setting up remote monitor sensors. These sensors would make it easier to keep an eye on the building's interiors, without requiring constant physical patrol. Which is good. They simply didn't have the people to adequately patrol it. And it didn't help they didn't know the interior layout thoroughly. As it was, setting up these sensors was requiring some guesswork. And Jack didn't like that. At all. But what were you gonna do?

Deveraux checked the work of his men as they went about business, "Yah, Sergeant. Lobby. Obvious entry point, fer shoah. Not likely, as this Tanith character ain't gonna come in thru da front doah. But we got da sensoahs foah that kinda coverage. So better safe, eh?"

Devereux continued, beginning to place the Claymores, "Course, nothing ensures a warm welcome, like a few party favors, right, mon ami?"

Teal'c was listening to Deveraux as he set up packages himself. He seemed to be bouncing between fascination and annoyance. Jack noticed this.

"You ask him, he would show you what the shrimp gumbo is all about," Jack said.

Teal'c nodded to Jack.

"Hm. This Tanith thing bother you?", Jack asked.

"Yes, O'Neil. It does. I should have aimed better. I didn't. And now..."

"And now, we are on a scavenger hunt. That's it. No gumbo. You are on bread and water when we get back."

Teal'c almost smiled.

"We've had our past come back to haunt us on a fairly regular basis. This is just another ghost saying boo, Teal'c. No one is blaming you for this."

"I know this, O'Neal."

"Well...good. So don't complain about the bread and water."

"I won't, O'Neal."

Meanwhile, Daniel Jackson entered a room next to the one which held the Quantum Mirror, warning Rhonda Moorehouse, the redhead from the exploration team, to stay clear of it. This was the record room, he was pretty certain.

In here, SHOULD be their quarry. So much information, so little time. So little...


	10. Archy Love?

Daniel intently searched the manuals, scrolls and other material that seemed likely would have the symbols he sought. He hunched over the pages, intently yet reverently turning them, his eyes focused, his mouth pursed.

Rhonda Moorehouse, trained xenoarchaeologist, one of Earth's first ever, looked through her pile of information, and occasionally, back at Daniel. She had the traditional academic background in archaeology as well, with PHDs in several cultural backgrounds. She spoke four dead languages and six living ones. Passion had driven her to the top in her field. Then, the military had shown up with an offer she found she couldn't refuse.

Her fangirl fantasies were now a reality. And here was the man who had made such a thing possible. He wasn't only brilliant, he was cuter in person, up close, than he had ever been in pictures, and seen at a distance, giving a speech. Though he had been irresistible even then. Her head tilted, and her unruly red hair sort of did it's own thing. She thought about putting her hat back on, hiding her defiant russet mane. But no, she wanted to be herself in front of the man she considered a hero.

No...Not star struck. She was here, she had a mission. And she wasn't going to give fodder to that butthead Colonel Jack O'Neil to give her team an even harder time than he already had done.

She regarded Daniel. He didn't have that brainy geek breeziness she had always associated with him. He seemed focused. Intense. The world around him was shut out. He was focused on his task. It was understandable, as she knew why they were there. And what they were looking for was essential to thwart this Gua'uld, Tanith from completing his mission. But what had happened to bring about this particular personality shift in Dr. Daniel Jackson at this juncture?

"Dr. Jackson?", she ventured.

He continued pouring through his material.

"Doctor?", she said again, taking a step toward him.

Daniel's head whirled around, his eyes sharply taking her in. He then relaxed, and even smiled a little bit.

She smiled in return.

"Just call me Daniel, ok..?"

"Rhonda."

"Rhonda? Rhonda Moorehouse?," his eyes went cloudy for a second as he focused inwardly, then he focused on her, "The whiz kid. First archaeologist to ever specialize in extraterrestrial archaeology."

Daniel nodded, and then said, "Well, here it all is. You're elbow deep in it now. Is it what you wanted?"

Rhonda smiled nervously and said, "I haven't been doing it long enough to really be sure, Doc...Daniel. But...wow...here, in alien ruins, looking over alien records...with y...all these extraordinary people. Hell YA! I wanted it."

Daniel nodded and yawned, shaking his head. "It is a bit of a kick, I'll admit. But things do happen that make it hard sometimes. But I hear your team is staying here after it's all over. You're going to be establishing a base camp for long-term exploration of this civilization. Congratulations!"

"I would have though SG-1, or at least you would have gotten the detail, Daniel."

"Well, we don't stay in one place long enough to really allow that," Daniel said wryly.

"Do you regret that?", Rhonda asked him, her eyes on his.

Daniel looked down a second, pursed his lips, then looked back at her, "No, no really. SG-1 is a great gig. But not the best place for academics, it's true. But I do lead a full life. Docking around from planet to planet, seeing, experiencing. But planting roots every now and then, REALLY doing this work...I envy you, Rhonda."

Rhonda smiled, "Well, maybe Colonel O'Neil will let you come visit."

"Jack? Yeah...maybe. After laughing at me for my choice of leave."

He turned his attention back to the manuals.

"Wait a take a look at this..."

A set of glyphs in a part of a manual that dealt with the Stargate stared back at him. This particular chapter dealt with the eighth and ninth chevrons, and some of it was in some kind of code. Daniel had managed to work the code, as it had been in the technical specs that Samantha had given him.

There it was. The Blackgate. And a clear warning to not activate it. Another name for it translated to "Universe Drain".

Daniel and Rhonda looked at each other, grabbed the manual, and ran to find Jack O'Neil.

Samantha Carter, Captain Killian and her crew had set up the controls and monitoring systems to the air defense sensor package. And though they were looking, it still surprised them to see a boogey appearing after just three hours.

Jack O'Neil got on his radio and said, "People, it's party time. Assume those positions."

Something had penetrated the atmosphere of this world near this city.

It seemed they were no longer alone here.


	11. Darkness Strikes

A Goa'uld cargo ship slipped into the night air above P3R233. It slipped in low and vanished below the horizon. Jack O'Neil stood with SG-1 and company, pursing his lips.

"Nick of time, Daniel, finding that info. Good job," he said, giving the young archaelogist a chuck on the shoulder.

Daniel pursed his lips and nodded, looking in the direction where the incoming spacecraft was last seen. He then looked at O'Neil and said, "Rhonda did help, Jack."

"Who? Oh..." O'Neil said, looking at the fire headed archaelogist, who was turning red in the face and looking like she was building up for a good rant. He looked her up and down, the disdain gone. Mostly.

"Good job," he said gruffly. "Keep it up."

Daniel smiled encouragingly at her, patting her on her shoulder. She stopped burning holes in Jack O'Neil's head with her eyes, and took a deep breath.

O'Neil continued, "I guess the next move is to fire up the Stargate and get this info back to the SGC for safekeeping. Be a lot less risky than leaving it here. Get down there, you two."

Daniel and Rhonda left, making for the Gate Room, along with one of the Rangers from SG-17.

Jack then turned to those still up there. Teal'c stood attentively, along with the remaining Ranger. He snapped to when he saw O'Neil's eyes upon him. "At ease, soldier," Jack said, "Sergeant..?"

"Stone, sir. Max Stone."

"How would you assess this situation, Sergeant?"

"I would be extra alert, sir. Tanith came in a Goa'uld cargo ship. They have the ring transporters and could appear at any..."

Down in the street was the sound of of someone "ringing in".

O'Neil looked at the Ranger. "Good call," he said, while running over to peer over the roof, Teal'c and Stone at his side.

A squad of mercenaries was assaulting that entrance to the museum.

Teal'c grunted and said, "I see five soldiers, O'Neil. At leat three Jaffa among them."

"Jaffa? Tanith is not well liked among them. What's he doing with Jaffa?"

"They are not in the traditional armor. I suspect they are mercenaries."

"The lizard guys with them? Mercs too?"

"I am certain."

"Great. Let's let them know that whatever Tanith's paying them, it's not enough."

"Indeed." Teal'c readied his staff. O'Neal and Stone got their assault rifles ready.

"A bit different from Bagdad, eh?", O'Neil asked the Ranger.

"Actually, sir, apart from the lizard guys, not that much," Stone responded, looking down the site of his rifle.

O'Neil nodded approvingly. "Normalize the weird. Essential ingredient in keeping all this in perspective. Light 'em up, guys."

He lowered himself behind his rifle and took aim.

Then Deveraux's Claymores went off, blasting the merc team in the street. O'Neil, Teal'c and Stone took cover, when suddenly, another ring teleportation took place behind them, on the roof!

"Crap," O'Neil swore.

They brought their guns to bear upon the apparating apparitions, when darkness took them...

Daniel and Rhonda hurried down the corridors, making their way to the gate room, their Ranger in tow. They heard the shooting start and redoubled their efforts, then took shelter from falling debris.

"That's Deveraux, isn't it?" Daniel asked the Ranger, Tillman was his name.

"Yeah," the Ranger said, with a wry smile on his face, "He was hoping he would have a chance to do that."

"What's your first name?", Daniel asked.

"Patrick."

"Stay close, Patrick, we've got to get this back to SGC."

"Yessir."

As they ran, the lights in the corridor, already dim, went out. They couldn't see. Then they couldn't...

Colonel Jack O'Neil burst into the room where the Stargate sat. The Marines came to the alert, guns on him.

"Stand down, men!", O'Neil barked at them. Major Phillips gestured to his Marines to lower their guns after looking at his IFF. It was O'Neil.

"Hell's broken loose, gents. Daniel found what we are looking for, and we've gotta get it outta here before Tanith's folks get in here."

"They're breaking thru, sir?", Phillips began to gesture two of his Marines to reinforce the fight.  
  
"I don't think that will be necessary," O'Neil said breezily, beginning the dial up sequence.

One chevron...two chevrons...three chevrons...

"Why not, sir? It's crucial they not get in here before you get that back to the SGC!"

Four...five...six

Phillips stepped closer to O'Neil, "Sir...what's the matter with your eyes? They're all black..."

Seven...eight...

O'Neil turned to Phillips with eyes black. Black as the deepest depths of hades.

"Oh, those bad guys you were worried about getting in here? Too late..."

Waves of black burst forth from O'Neil, enveloping the room in utter black. The Marines screamed, then went silent.

"O'Neil" smiled, then turned back to the Stargate.

NINE!

Spacetime flushed. A shimmer appeared.

"My master, I come," O'Neil muttered. He walked up the ramp, and just before he reached the gate, his image shifted. Tanith looked back on the room. A sinister smile graced his face, his aquiline nose tilted up slightly. He whistled a discordant tune, which cut off as the wormhole took him.


	12. Face of Darkness

A bunker made of ancient, immensely strong material encased in a force field powered by the hellish energies surrounding it waits on this dismal planetoid. This planetoid whirls around that gravitational pit at the center of the galaxy. Ever, it stares. And something stares back.  
Inside this bunker waited ancient machines. Despite the eons of time, they await the purpose for which they were placed. That purpose is about to be fulfilled. In a darkened, spartan room, a Stargate opens, spilling shimmering space/time forth. A lone figure steps out of the wormhole. It pauses and looks back at the gate as the wormhole evaporates. It then walks into the room. Dim light illuminates it's aquiline features. A sinister smile plays across its face.

The hard luck Goa'uld Tanith walked out of the room, down a darkened corridor that hadn't seen a living soul in eons. Dark, ancient air flowed in his lungs as he silently communed with the dark presence that led him on, continually whispering promises, painting pictures of glory and revenge. Oh yes, it soon would be all his. The new age ushered into the universe would be glorious and terrible. And he would play a leading role in the new order.

He entered another room through a set of gray archways. Strange symbols littered the archways. These symbols, spidery and harsh, would cause a sane person a headache if they gazed upon them enough, wondering how anyone right of mind could read them. And that's the point. They couldn't.

Tanith silently padded into a cavernous domed chamber, lighted by a dull grey light. In the center of the chamber was a large rounded structure. Build of the same gray metallic material a stargate was, it was a mound, rather than a ring. Facing the entrance to the chamber was an oval opening, the 'ends' running parallel to the floor. Jagged, grey, it looked like a huge fossilized egg, or insect mound, from which something hostile waited to spring forth.

How true.

Tanith walked up to the mound, and began tapping commands into a panel on a pedestal beside the mound. With a silent moan, the dark opening suddenly became BLACK. The absence of light, life and all else that made our universe what it is. A great darkness, a great hunger lusted after it all.

"Master..." Tanith whispered, his voice full of adoration.

The darkness seemed to regard him for a moment, then a wave of anti life engulfed him...

Daniel Jackson's eyes popped open. He gripped the fallen rifle lying next to him, then regarded it with distaste. He then saw Teal'c sitting next to him. Daniel could see the deep concern in the Jaffa's stony face.

"Did you see it?" Daniel asked him.

Teal'c nodded gravely. "It would seem we have failed, Daniel Jackson. The universe is in jeopardy because of us."

Daniel shook his head and sat up, "Teal'c, we aren't responsible for Tanith and his desire to backstab all of existence."

"No, but we failed to stop him. And now, his plans continue."

Daniel sighed, paused and said, "Well, we're still here. So whatever Big Bang Tanith and his "god" have planned, it takes some time. So we have a chance. I mean, what else is there?"

Teal'c nodded conceding the point.

Daniel and Teal'c turned as Samantha Carter and one of the Rangers came into the room. Carter looked at Daniel, relieved to see him up. Her relief turned to concern again as Rhonda appeared unable to respond when prodded by Daniel. Specialist Hansen, combat medic on the Ranger SG team, went to work immediately on her and Corporal Tillman. Eventually, they rose, both apparently unharmed, but weakened.

"What was that?", Tillman asked, wobbly on his knees.

"It was blackness...horrible..." Rhonda said slowly, leaning on Daniel. He held her up.

"I can't find anything wrong with them," Hansen said. "Some kind of fatigue, but I have no idea why. From what I can tell, we are all affected by one degree or another."

"Even I," Tea'lc said, wonderingly.

"How's Junior?", Samantha asked.

"He is there, alive, but suffering from a similar malaise," Teal'c said, troubled.

Captain Killian then showed up, the rest of her team in tow. She was looking grim.

"Better come to the Gate Room, y'all," she said.

The group followed her down. As they approached, they could hear a voice shouting, on it's last legs. Colonel Jack O'Neil's voice could be heard, speaking softly.

"Major, it's ME. Jack O'Neil. I'm not..." Jack sighed.

Major Phillips, commanding officer of SG-3, Marine Combat Team, stood in front of the Stargate, eyes wild, pointing a pistol at Jack O'Neil. It shook badly. Three Marines lay in ugly positions elsewhere in the room. They weren't moving.

"Major, every second you block us, you give Tanith more time to do whatever he's trying to do," Daniel said.

"SHUTUP!" Phillips roared, jabbing the pistol sharply at Daniel, then turning it and his gaze back to Jack. "You weren't here. It was dark...so dark. He...HIM!"

He jabbed the gun at Jack, and it began to wobble even more.

Samantha looked at Jack. Teal'c looked as if he was ready to jump Major Phillips. Everyone else held their breath.

Jack looked at Teal'c and made a "Teal' back off...please?" face, then turned back to the fraying Marine.

"John, remember that training exercise at 29 Palms? That lovely little butterbar in the chow hall line? The one you said was the ONE THING that made it worth standing in that chow line?"

Phillips seemed to stop for a second, listening to Jack. "You know, the one who you said was...just a second..." Jack looked down, "Ah yes...something about the Academy producing a special vintage? Know what I mean?"

He smiled wanly.

Phillips' pistol dropped. He then sobbed, "My Marines..." then crumbled to the ground.

Captain Killian rushed to Phillips, while Darla Kincaide and Specialist Hansen rushed to the fallen Marines.

O'Neil looked at Daniel, "Dial home. Anyone check on those mercs?"

"Dead," Devereaux said. "And only some o' dem becau' o' us, sir."

"How about them?", he asked, pointing to the Marines.

"Dead, sir," Hansen said sadly.

O'Neil's face went stony.

"Let's get them home." He paused, "Dammit."

The wormhole formed, the remnants of the teams trudged up the ramp, bearing their grim charges, and then the museum stood empty again.


	13. Mourning

A ring of watchful Security Forces troops silently observed the arrival of the SG teams who had gone to P3R233. General Hammond grimly took in the site along with the Gate operators. His face was stony, without expression, but the airmen with him could feel the sadness, the frustration. The general then wheeled about, heading down to the Gate Room itself. He came through the main doorway and walked up to a now tired looking Jack O'Neil.

The two of them stepped aside as medical personnel took the fallen Marines and Major Phillips to the infirmary. The wormhole collapsed behind them, and Hammond signaled the SFs to stand down. He then looked at O'Neil.

"What happened out there, Colonel?"

Jack O'Neil's eyes were hard, despite the weariness in his countenance. "We screwed up," he grumbled.

"How so?"

"Ah...Tanith shows up with a whole new bag of tricks, crap that we've never seen before. Caught us flatfooted."

"What sort of tricks?" Hammond inquired.

Major Samantha Carter recounted what she had observed, "New powers, sir. New technology. Someone is helping him do this, whatever this is."

Daniel looked pensive.

"Something the matter, Doctor Jackson?" Hammond asked, looking at Daniel curiously.

"Ah...it's true what Samantha said, Tanith is getting help. But it's not technology, at least, not in the traditional sense. He stole Jack's IFF, but that's about it. Other than that, he's tapping into something directly. Or something is tapping into him."

"Meaning what?" Hammond asked. O'Neil and Carter also looked at Daniel wonderingly. However, Teal'c's expression remained neutral.

"I...I'm not sure," Daniel confessed. "Look, I know this is going to sound a little loopy, but the images and impressions I've been getting have been crystallizing of late. Tanith is getting help here. He is tapping into powers and resources of a sort we haven't seen before. The writings I found referred to darkness, to anti life, to something outside this universe."

"Anti...life?" Jack asked, giving Daniel THAT LOOK.

"Yeah, Jack. And no headaches, no stress. Especially when I got hit with that darkness wave. Clarity. A lot of it was written in those writing I had found."

"Where are those writings now?" General Hammond asked.

"Uh...Tanith got them," Daniel said sheepishly.

Jack sighed. Samantha looked down at her feet. But Teal'c spoke up and said, "That does not matter. You can see what he saw. You can see all he read. You know where the Black Gate is and how to get to it. Do you not, Daniel Jackson?"

Everyone looked at Daniel.

"Yes...yes, I do," Daniel realized.

"How is that possible?" Samantha asked.

"Yeah, and how would you know, Teal'c?" Jack wondered.

Daniel and Teal'c looked at each other.

"I don't (do not) know," they both said at the same time.

Samantha looked like her tech mind was fully engaged, and getting lost in what she was hearing. Jack just looked lost. And increasingly pissed.

"I can see it in my mind," Daniel admitted. "And I'm still getting more impressions."

O'Neil looked at Daniel, "You never mentioned this before."

Daniel returned Jack's intent gaze, "Actually...I did."  
  
Teal'c raised an eyebrow.  
  
Hammond was about to ask how it was possible, then said, "Get some rest. We will meet in the conference room at 0800 tomorrow morning to decide what to do next."

The team members silently wandered out of the Gate Room to try to recover from the recent events.  
  
That night, Daniel slept. And he saw a Goau'ld mothership. A Stargate in the hold on board this ship opened up. Then something dark came forth...


	14. Look At The Enemy

SG-1 stood in the control room, watching the Gate as it proceeded to dial the coordinates they managed to find in the control room. The members of the other SG teams stood around, too, watching what was going on. Wary watchfulness was the dominant expression among the members there. In addition, with Jack O'Neil, there was an element of anger, a desire for a reckoning. Daniel Jackson seemed…expectant? General Hammond was concerned. He did have Major Carter's assurance that wormholes are one way and there was no way anything on the other side could get to them. That was the only way he authorized this at all. But still, he was concerned.

Nine coordinates on a Stargate theoretically link a wormhole to a destination outside this universe. This didn't make sense, as the location given in the literature recovered by the SG teams on the Museum World indicated that the location of this…place Tanith had gone to was in this universe, close to the galactic core. Daniel did more translating, tho, and based on the text, the "base" in which this Blackgate was located was shielded somehow. And this shield sealed it off from the rest of the universe, as a further way to hide it's contents from the universe at large, and to keep it there, until the time was right. That's how it translated, anyway.

Seven…eight…nine… And the coordinates locked. No one had spoken up to this point, except the bare minimum necessary for Gate operation. When these coordinates locked in, and a vibration passed through the base, almost a deep groaning, everyone went absolutely silent and still. All eyes were upon the Gate, as a chill seemed to pass through the room, and the shadows seemed to get a little deeper.

Jack O'Neil looked down at the airmen, soldiers, and Marines edging the ramp, weapons at the read. Their steely eyes matched his own. Normally, in a moment like this, a quip would be on his lips.

But not this time. A whole team had been lost to what was on the other side. And he was pissed still.

The wormhole formed with a woosh. But there was something odd about it. The glow that normally accompanies an event horizon seemed strangely subdued.

Jack looked at Carter, who shrugged. He then looked at General Hammond, who slowly nodded.

"Alright…send in the MOUT," he said.

The robot rolled up the ramp, breached the Event Horizon, a strange frost forming on it's steel exterior. And it was gone. A few seconds later, it's coordinates matched those Daniel had found in the scrolls he had recovered.

They took a look at what the robot revealed. Visually, there was nothing. Just a blackness.

"Radar," O'Neil grunted.

The MOUT began transmitting. It painted a picture of a strangely constructed corridor. It led to…

"Take a look around. Try not to break anything," O'Neil murmured.

Carter tapped out instructions to the MOUT, and it lurched forward, it's radar sweeping it's view. Eventually, it came to an odd doorway. As the robot approached, Daniel began figeting. O'Neil looked back at him with a questioning gaze. Daniel ignored him, staring at the screen.

And there, through the doorway, was a strange black mound. With a round opening. And the readings from it, local distortions of space/time, had Carter riveted. She began recording the readings, when the temperature in the room dropped suddenly, the lights fluctuated, and suddenly, the view from the MOUT shorted out. Shortly after, the wormhole collapsed.

There was a moment of silence. General Hammond then said, "Colonel O'Neil, I'm sorry, but I can't authorize a mission to that location until I have more information."

"I understand, sir," O'Neil grumbled, exhaling.

Suddenly, the gate registered an incoming wormhole. Upon an order from General Hammond, the iris was closed. He saw signal they were receiving and relayed it to General Hammond, "It's the Tok'ra, sir."

"Open the iris," Hammond said.

Jacob Carter stepped through, glanced at the room full of armed troops, then shivered. "You hanging meat in here, Jack?"

"Hi, Jacob. Nope, nothing to report," Jack said ruefully through the intercom.

"I know, and I'm sorry for your losses, Jack. Look, we've got to talk."

The SG teams, General Hammond and Jacob Carter retired to the briefing room.

Jacob took the floor immediately and said, "Look, I'll get right to the point. There's now a shooting war among the Goaul'd…"


	15. This Spreading Darkness

**The Spreading Darkness**

The Jaffa leader Matok, proud legionnare in the forces of Ba'al desperately tried

to organize his troops. A battle group ostensibly belonging formerly to Sokar and now in

the service of Ba'al had arrived in his system. What had at first been thought to be an

assembly of forces for a coming offensive had turned out to be a betrayal. But the reason and nature of it were unclear. The incoming Ha'tak mothership squadron and support vessels had refused to communicate, then had begun firing on his ships. But they didn't launch Deathgliders or Al'kesh bombers. Instead, they began boarding once in Ring range. And now, there were reports coming in of Jaffa fighting Jaffa on the other ships. Civil war among the System Lords was, of course, not uncommon, but there was something strange about the combat reports coming in. Not to mention these were ships under the allegiance of the same Lord he served. He looked grimaced as he listened to the reports from the bridge of his Ha'tak mothership. The Jaffa his men were battling appeared to be Ba'al's warriors, but…why were they fighting forces on the same side?

His men tensed as the air grew electric. The ring transporter in front of them was activating. And a team of Ba'al Jaffa appeared. They rested on their staff weapons, relaxed. His men, tense, waited for the order to fire. But he could tell they were confused. How could they be fighting their own? Then he saw the eyes of those they faced.

Darkess.

Then he took note of the individual standing in front of them. A Goa'uld. It was Tanith, a former servant of his master…he then noted the darkness in Tanith's eyes, too.

"You…you were reported dead," he stammered.

Tannith smiled, and the darkness seemed to flow from his eyes, "Don't believe everything you read, Jaffa."

"Sha'lokma'kor! (Kill them!), Matok shouted, leveling his staff weapon. Then he saw nothing…

"…and that's about the size of it," Jacob sighed. "Tanith has been building his forces by cannibalizing those of other System Lords with that thing he has now aligned himself with. The System Lords now have a shoot on sight policy with ships known to be infected. Problem is, they don't advertise. They want to engage the enemy. Besides the problem of identifying, there is this possession issue."

"Then perhaps they could mass their forces, overwhelming any of Taneth's forces…" Teal'c offered.

"But that's leaves them a big fat target for this dark demon thing," Jack said, looking at his hands, fidgeting.

"Well, what about scattering their forces, avoiding contact?", Samantha Carter asked.

"Piecemeal," General Hammond said, "They would be even easier targets at that point."

"Well, geez, people, we can't just sit on our asses. Times a wasting and it's only going to get worse."

"No, we can't," Daniel said, "It wants our galaxy. It hungers…"

Everyone looked at him. Daniel's eyes, distant and clouded, suddenly focused. He looked at the others earnestly, "Look, I know where my visions have been coming from. I've been going over those documents Rhonda and I brought back and it's all there."

Jack braced himself visibly and General Hammond said, "Go on, Dr. Jackson."

"Well, whatever that thing is that Tanith has let out, the Ancients built the Black Gate to gain access to it," he said.

O'Neils eyebrows went up along with Teal'c's single one, "Why the hell for?", O'Neil asked.

"Like I said, this group of Ancients wanted to restart the universe. And this thing told them it could. So they worshipped it, communed with it, and it gave them the instructions on how to build the Black Gate, based on Stargate technology."

"Hoo boy," O'Neil muttered.

"What happened to these other Ancients, these cultists?", Carter wondered.

"They were destroyed by the other Ancients," Daniel said. "But they had already gained the attention of the entity and had built the Black Gate in secret. The Ancients were never able to find it. And the only records of existence had fallen into the hand of the archivist of P3R233."

"I take it the Ancients who worshipped this thing also built the Stargate that gave access to the planet the Black Gate is on?", General Hammond asked.

"That's correct."

"So we go through the Gate, blow it up," Jack said.

"That entity is loose and will have control, even if the Gate on that planet will activate, sir," Carter said worriedly.

"We have no other choice. We must make the attempt," Teal'c said with firmness in his voice.

"No, actually we do have a choice," O'Neil said. "All this goings on should have gotten the attention of the Asgard. They might be inclined to give us a ride..?"


	16. Hello, Thor

COMETH THOR

Suddenly a bright flash lit up the room. When it vanished, standing there was the short, slender gray form of Thor.

"I put in a call to them before I came here," Jacob confirmed.

"Ok…," O'Neil began. Hel still was stupefied on how little the diminutive alien bore resemblance to his namesake. If Thor hadn't proved his valor on many occasions already, it would be comical. It still was, a little. But their knowledge, technology and firepower would undoubtedly come in handy here. No doubt their speedy ships would. Besides…O'Neil had a soft spot for the little guy.

"Given the severity of the situation, we have three Asgard ships standing by in orbit," Thor said. "We are ready to take you to any necessary location to help deal with the problem."

"We could put the Prometheus on standby as well," General Hammond said, referring to Earth's single starship, built on a salvaged Asgard design.

"I don't think that's such a good idea, sir," Jack thought out loud, "In case this totally goes belly up, the Prometheus is all you've got for defense, and…"

"Evacuation?" Daniel said softly.

"Don't jinx the works," O'Neil said sharply.

"What is the plan, sir?" Samantha Carter asked, her face grave.

"Well, the way I see it, is we have two serious problems," O'Neal said. "This Darkwhatever is recruiting forces at an ungodly rate. Tanith is being a busy boy."

Teal'c silently sneered.

"And we have the Blackgate planet, which we can't safely access through the Stargate. So we have Thor and his Rocket Rangers to give us a ride."

"That's risky, taking Asgard ships into this. We can't let Tanith and his forces take that technology," Carter said, "That would put the galaxy at too great a risk."

"We are prepared to immediately destroy our own vessels, should that become a possibility," Thor said in his usual unruffled manner. "We must help. We even have more ships on standby, should they be needed."

"Thank you, Thor," General Hammond said, "Now, do you address both problems at once, or one at a time?"

O'Neil traded looks with Jacob Carter, "We have exact coordinates of the infected Goa'uld ships," Jacob confirmed, "Reports indicate they aren't leaving soon, as it's a major concentration point for Ba'al's forces. The Tok'ra think that Tanith is gorging himself on Ba'al's forces. Whether he wishes to extend that move to the other System Lords or use Ba'al's forces to leverage power, we don't know."

"So, we have an expanding…infection destabilizing the System Lord situation, meaning the other System Lords are moving to destroy Tanith's forces," Hammond observed.

"And getting infected themselves," Samantha Carter said. "Sir, it's essential we cut off the infection before it becomes overwhelming, whatever Tanith elects to do. We must destroy any Stargates he has his hands on."

"Ok, how many Stargates does he have?", O'Neil asked.

Jacob closed his eyes, then opened them. After a flash, the voice of Selmac, the Tok'ra symbiote spoke, "He has the one in one of his captured Motherships. The System Lords have gotten the word out to the others, as have the Asgard. As many Gates as possible are being activated to prevent an infiltration through that route."

"But, it's only a matter of time before he finds an unprotected Gate," Daniel said. "It hasn't happened yet. The Gates in use and the pressing System Lords are keeping Tanith occupied. But given time…"

"Well, the bastard isn't giving us any time, so let's take away his," Jack barked. "Sir, permission to round up as many SG assault teams as I can, hook up with Thor and his buddies and go kick Tanith's ass?"

"Permission granted," General Hammond said, "Good hunting, Jack."


	17. Face of the Enemy

FACE OF THE ENEMY

Ba'al looked at the forces arrayed on his situation display. A large cross section of his space forces encircled his mothership. Other System Lords had arrived in the region, instead of engaging the forces of the strange usurper, they held back, intent on attempting to blockade his forces, whoever he was. The unknown foe had taken command of some of his battle groups via unknown methods. And he was working on taking more. Ring transporters had been disabled on his ships, and per the information sent by the Tok'ra, he had had as many Stargates as he could manage under his command activated to prevent the unknown from using his. Why this was such a concern was still a mystery. And frankly, he didn't care for mysteries. Mysteries were out of the purveau of his power base. And one mystery had hijacked a large section of his forces.

Ba'al glowered as his ship shuddered from another salvo launched by one of the usurper's ships. "This must end," he growled in concerned annoyance. Not expecting anything, he had his First Prime attempt another communication. There was a pause as the Jaffa worked his console. No luck. The Jaffa turned to Ba'al, seemingly fearing his master's wrath at this failure. Ba'al sneered at the main viewscreen, grimacing at the flashing lights of the battle outside. He then had an idea. Activating the communications system himself, he said, "Speak, intruder! Reveal yourself! Who are you and why do you attack?"

The screen went silver and a familiar face with angular features appeared. Ba'al's eyes flashed white in anger and wondermen. "Tanith! What is the meaning of this attack? How? Why?"

As if to mock him, Tanith's eyes flashed black, and he smiled, "For the same reason you do, Ba'al. For the power, glory, but mostly because I can. Besides, I'm working for someone. A new order is coming, Ba'al. The System Lords are old, corrupt, as is the Universe. The slate needs to be wiped bare. I am the Avatar of the coming cleansing, Ba'al. Very clever, btw, denying me use of the Rings and the Stargate. But I WILL find my way onto your ships, then your worlds. You can't stop me."

Then, Ba'al saw on his situational display boarding vessels leaving Tanith's ships, heading for his. And several of Tanith's starships warped out of there, with ships of the other System Lords pursuing.

"It's inevitable, Ba'al. This is the new way. Embrace it. Your voice could be an important one in the new Realm. You would be like unto a God," Tanith said smoothly.

"I AM A GOD!", Ba'al snarled.

Tanith tsked and said, "Both you and I know the truth of that, Ba'al. You are just a chief in the universe's biggest hoax ever. And it's time for Truth…"

On the screen, the ship with Tanith on board began accelerating towards Ba'al's ship.

Ba'al's eyes widened, "Retreat from that vessel, all ships! Open fire! Destroy him!

Meanwhile, in hyperspace, a desperate chase was underway. Several of Tanith's vessels sped to several distant destinations known to base Stargates. Ships of the System Lords sped after, determined to destroy them…


	18. Sails Unfurled

CHPT 18: Sails Unfurled

Colonel Jack O'Neil looked at the assembled troops. He would be commanding a ground force made up of no less than 15 SG groups. He would have preferred more groundpounders, A LOT more, but the SGC dealt in small unit operations and just didn't have a few brigades behind glass ready to go. But, this mission, ideally, would have them supporting other ground forces more massive, mainly Jaffa, and attempting to capture or destroy a Stargate on board a Goaul'd mothership. And to do that, they had to get to it, first. So masses of ground troops, in this case, wouldn't really be useful. But when going into harm's way with teeth bared and spears pointed, well, Jack O'Neil felt better when there was lotsa spears. And much more teeth.

He took another look at Montaigne Deveraux, the Army Ranger Lt Colonel in command of SG-17. Deveraux looked back him resolutely. The flippness he had displayed on the mission to P3R233 was still there, but subdued. This was personal to him as well as the Rangers with him. O'Neil could see it in their eyes.

"You up for this?" O'Neil asked him.

Deveraux looked mildly insulted by the question. "Beg the Colonel's pardon, suh, but the situation gets worse the longuh we stand heah talkin' boud dis."

"Well, we can't rush these things too much. Don't want to risk a repeat of the last performance," O'Neil cautioned, "This is the encore. Time to blow the socks off the audience, y'know?"

Ranger Specialist Pat Tilman spoke up, "I'm just ready for my chance to hit my power cord, sir."

O'Neil smiled slightly and nodded, patting Deveraux on the shoulder before moving onto his next subject. He was bringing Captain Macy Killian along on this one, too. Yes, her team was scheduled for the long-term surveillance and cataloguing of the installations and artifacts on P3R233, but he felt there was a good chance that the scientific and technical expertise might be needed here.

Captain Macy nodded at him, and relaxed. She saw little sign of the previous disdain she had seen in him before they had embarked for the museum world. Not quite admiration, but he seemed to recognize the usefulness of her SG team. Besides, once you had been under fire with O'Neil and had acquitted yourself, he dropped a few of those barriers. He still had his misgivings, but he wanted them along. And now, they knew it. Well, there was that one archaeologist, Moorehouse. Ah, she and Daniel worked well together, so screw it. She sure had a mean stare, that one, O'Neil noted, seeing Moorehouse's defiant green eyes fixed on him.

"At ease," he said to her, flashing a bit of a smile. Rhonda seemed to relax a little bit, and her gaze was less intense.

"All right, Thor's people are gonna be beaming us up in just a little bit," he said, raising his voice just a hair. "Team commanders, just make sure people and equipment are accounted for. Oh, Dramamine, make sure you have some, 'kay?"

He then turned to his people. Daniel, Carter, Teal'c, all there. Daniel looked ready. Wow, intense. And not that scholarly intense, either. Almost a Teal'c intense. And Teal'c, almost Superman style heat vision, so intense. Carter? She was reviewing scientific data, what they had, anyway, of the phenomenon, this…darkness, and was wrapped up in it, looking for any clue they could get from it. So far, zip, but that never stopped her from trying.

He then noticed a figure standing a little behind them. Marine Major John Phillips, commander of SG-3. He was a Marine who had lost his command in the massacre at P3R233. He had wanted to come along on this expedition, too. But, O'Neil had nixed that, for two reasons. The grief of his loss still held heavy sway over him. And they needed to get his team restaffed quickly with qualified Marines, and that would be hampered if he were off gallivanting around the galaxy.

"Sorry, Major. I know the feeling of being left behind. I know the feeling of losing people under your command. But if SG-3 is going to get back on its feet, need you here whipping 'em into shape, know what I mean?"

"Sir, it's just that you are going out there into a serious situation, taking a huge percentage of our ground power. And this is just the thing SG-3 was established for. If you would just…"

"Major…there is no SG-3. And that's the point. For there to be another, you've gotta stand watch on the home front."

"Colonel O'Neil is correct," said Teal'c, now standing next to the two men. "Your experience at facing this foe will be essential, especially of Tanith and whomever he serves now succeeds in reaching Earth."

"And hey, that is a distinct possibility," O'Neil said, "That's what we're heading out there to prevent, but we could screw that up. If we drop the ball, need you here to catch it."

Major Phillips slowly nodded.

O'Neil met his gaze for a moment, and then turned back to his group. Carter was looking at him with a very concerned expression.

"What is it, Carter?" O'Neil asked, "That looks like your 'we are so screwed' look. Am I right? I would prefer it if it was your 'I've got a bad case of indigestion' look, but tell me the truth."

"Sir…I've just been going over some figures, based on what little we have seen of this Dark Force, and how quick it can act. How much time we have to take action if exposed to it…"

"Not a lot?" O'Neil asked, as the sound of Asgardian teleporters began sounding behind him.

"Sir…however this Dark Force works, I recommend avoiding direct contact entirely," Carter said, "Based on what I have, and estimations made, it seems to just get stronger, the more people who get under it's control. Almost an exponential level."

"Why? And what is it?" O'Neil asked.

"It's a god from an empty universe. And it needs sentient minds to occupy this one," Daniel said.

"Ok, that's creepy," Jack said as a series of teleports began around him, "Can we get out there and kill this thing, please?"

Eventually, the huge warehouse area that the SGC had used to rally the SG teams stood empty as the last white flash went out. In orbit, a battle group of Asgardian warships, stealthed against detection by Earth observation devices, gracefully peeled from orbit and headed forth to their coming confrontation.

On an approaching vector, a pair of fleeing Goau'ld motherships, their lights and windows enshrouded by darkness hurtled on, fleeing another group of motherships. Fire exchange, but still, the ships came on.


End file.
